Project approval after AI review on 2 November 2026. Human proofreading is still pending.
Lesson 42
Attack on both wings
- What you will learn
- You attack a weakness on one wing and use the new weakness that arises on the other wing as a result.
- What you should already know
- How to attack a weakness from two sides
- Lesson 29: Attacking a weakness from two sides
Time: about 8 minutes
Thinking questions in this lesson
You can ask yourself these thinking questions in any position. They help you find a good move.
- What is the threat?
- Which pawn move changes the position?
- Which piece could be better placed?
Step 1 of 8
Look first
An endgame from 1926. Von Gottschall has White, Nimzowitsch has Black. Nimzowitsch manoeuvred against the pawn on c5 for a long time, until White played h3-h4 on the kingside.
You are playing Black. Which white pawn no longer has a white pawn on a neighbouring file?
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space marks a square or removes the mark.
Choose a square from a list
Position as a list
White
- King e2
- Rook b4
- Bishop f2
- Pawn a3
- Pawn b2
- Pawn c5
- Pawn h4
Black
- King d5
- Rook f3
- Bishop c6
- Pawn a4
- Pawn b7
- Pawn e4
- Pawn h5
Step 2 of 8
Decide
A middlegame from 1911. Teichmann has White, Nimzowitsch has Black. Both black rooks are on the h-file.
You are playing Black. Your target is the white queenside. With which move do you gain time for it?
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.
Position as a list
White
- King g2
- Queen c4
- Rook d1
- Rook e1
- Knight f1
- Knight h2
- Pawn b2
- Pawn c2
- Pawn e4
- Pawn f3
- Pawn g3
Black
- King g7
- Queen b6
- Rook h5
- Rook h8
- Bishop g5
- Knight c5
- Pawn b4
- Pawn d6
- Pawn e5
- Pawn f7
- Pawn g6
Step 3 of 8
Try it
Back to the endgame against von Gottschall.
You are playing Black. With which rook move do you attack the pawn on h4 along the h-file?
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.
Choose a move from a list
Position as a list
White
- King e2
- Rook b4
- Bishop f2
- Pawn a3
- Pawn b2
- Pawn c5
- Pawn h4
Black
- King d5
- Rook f3
- Bishop c6
- Pawn a4
- Pawn b7
- Pawn e4
- Pawn h5
Step 4 of 8
Why does it work?
If you play against a weakness on one wing, you force your opponent to defend. In doing so they often advance pawns on the other wing, and new weaknesses arise there.
Now there are two targets. The attacker manoeuvres between them until the defender can no longer hold both.
Key idea
Attack on one wing until your opponent moves pawns on the other wing too. Then attack the new weakness.
When does this apply?
This works above all when your pieces are more mobile than your opponent’s. Without such an advantage the pressure is often not enough.
Step 5 of 8
New position, same idea
An endgame from 1926. Von Holzhausen has White, Nimzowitsch has Black. The white pawns on the kingside are still on their starting squares.
You are playing Black. With which rook move do you attack the pawn on h2?
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.
Choose a move from a list
Position as a list
White
- King c2
- Rook e1
- Rook f1
- Knight e3
- Pawn a2
- Pawn b2
- Pawn c4
- Pawn g2
- Pawn h2
Black
- King c6
- Rook e6
- Rook e8
- Knight d6
- Pawn a7
- Pawn b7
- Pawn c5
- Pawn e4
- Pawn g7
- Pawn h7
Step 6 of 8
Choose your target
A teaching position of our own with two possible targets. Use the board to choose which pawn your rook can capture.
You are playing White. On which wing can you capture a pawn now and keep your rook? Choose a target and a reason.
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.
Position as a list
White
- King g1
- Rook d3
- Pawn f2
- Pawn g4
- Pawn h2
Black
- King f7
- Rook a8
- Pawn a3
- Pawn f6
- Pawn g7
- Pawn h3
Step 7 of 8
Check the other defence
A different position for comparison: the black rook now protects the other side. This is a second starting position, not a continuation of your previous solution. Decide again according to the protection.
You are playing White. On which wing can you capture a pawn now and keep your rook? Choose a target and a reason.
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.
Position as a list
White
- King g1
- Rook d3
- Pawn f2
- Pawn g4
- Pawn h2
Black
- King f7
- Rook h8
- Pawn a3
- Pawn f6
- Pawn g7
- Pawn h3
Step 8 of 8
Nimzowitsch and today
Source
In “My System” Nimzowitsch shows how play against a weakness on one wing leads the opponent to advance pawns on the other wing. This creates new weaknesses, and the manoeuvring against a weakness begins, now against two of them. A mate threat can serve as a tool here to gain time for the other wing. Against von Holzhausen, in his own words, Nimzowitsch exceptionally went the opposite way: he first lured the pawns on the kingside forward and then fought on the queenside. The texts are newly written for the course; the positions come from von Gottschall – Nimzowitsch, Hanover 1926, Teichmann – Nimzowitsch, San Sebastián 1911, and von Holzhausen – Nimzowitsch, Hanover 1926. The two additional target comparisons are teaching positions of our own, not historical game positions.
- My System, chapter 5 (in German): manoeuvring and the attack on both wings (original text not yet published)
Today’s view (editorial note)
Today people speak of the principle of two weaknesses: one weakness can often be defended, two usually cannot.